Eternal Spring Shrine and Swallow Grotto

From Shakadang Trail, Mr. Lu went brought us to a spot overviewing Changchun, or the Eternal Spring Shrine. Taroko National Park is so massive that one cannot visit all the places inside so we just selected a few interesting places to go to. The shrine is dedicated to 212 military personnel who gave their lives for the construction of Central Cross-Island Highway.


The shrine is said to be the most photographed place here in the park and it's understandable why. Aside from the shrine itself, spring water from Changchun falls continuously flow from the mountain adding beauty to the attraction.


on top of the hill


writings on the rock wall


This tunnel is the starting point of a 1.5km trail to the shrine. It is short but we didn't go through because some points might be too steep for my mom to climb.


Mr. Lu's cab


We then proceeded to Yanzihkou or Swallow Grotto. As we walk towards a tunnel entrance, Mr. Lu pointed us two hanging bridges, an old one and new one. Both looks scary for someone with fear of heights for they are quite long. The old one is situated on a higher altitude.


pathway and viewing deck of the swallow grotto


tunnel entrance and swallow grotto marker


inside the tunnel


These are the grottos, I didn't get it at first but apparently a grotto is a small caverns and there are lots of these naturally carved into the rocks. I confirmed this with further research later on.


And this is a swallow. I also thought swallow was an adjective to the grotto, but later did I realize that they refer to a number of swallow birds around the area.


Liwu river and the gorge


me


A nice and comfortable place, great view and more learnings for me! I also learned that the term gorge refers to a deep narrow and rocky valley, like the one above along the Liwu river.